1. Field of the Invention
The present matter relates to a collapsible bag assembly which is used to protect an appliance item against water damage. In particular, the invention provides a barrier which encases the appliance item to prevent any unwanted contact with water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Floods can cause substantial water damage to household appliance items. Most floods occur unexpectedly and provide appliance owners with little or no opportunity to relocate or otherwise protect their appliance items. Thus, when flooding occurs or is imminent, appliance owners rush to remove their appliance items to a dry safe haven before they are damaged by rising flood waters. Those who are unable to respond quickly incur potentially substantial repair or replacement costs. While generalized flooding is usually associated with buildings that are located in low land or flood plain areas, of equal significance is unexpected flooding that occurs in houses located in other areas which is caused by malfunctioning sump pumps, broken water pipes or leaky furnaces or appliances. Certain appliances located in basements are often times placed on blocks to elevate them three or four inches above the basement floor. This, arrangement provides limited protection against flood water damage to the extent that the water level does not rise above the level of the blocks.
The prior art has described the use of a plastic barrier sheet for protecting household plants from the elements as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,347. It has also disclosed a barrier sheet which is used for protecting household surroundings from the mess created by shedding needles when a Christmas tree is removed from a house for disposal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,795 describes a collapsible bag which is used for this purpose. The prior art does not suggest a way for protecting appliance items from flood water damage. Thus, there is a need for a quick, simple and inexpensive way to provide such protection during flood emergencies.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a barrier sheet which protects appliance items against water damage.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an assembly containing the barrier sheet which permits its quick and convenient manual or automatic deployment during times of emergency.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an assembly containing a barrier sheet which is easily installed for protective use.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a barrier sheet which protects the surroundings against water damage caused by leaky appliance items.